Galbatorix
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| Galbatorix | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Born | c. 120 BBRW |
| Died | Unknown |
| Physical description | |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | Unknown |
| Hair Color | Unknown |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Chronological and political information | |
| Affiliation | Dragon Riders, Forsworn, The Empire |
| Dragon | Unknown dragon, Shruikan (stolen) |
| Known teachers | Unknown |
Galbatorix was the king of Alagaësia. A one-time Dragon Rider, he eventually turned against the order and brought about their downfall, believing they had caused the death of his dragon. He then established the Empire.
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[edit] History
At the age of ten, a Dragon had hatched for him. Galbatorix was given the training of the dragon riders, and was accepted as one of their own. He was both proud and foolhardy, but his talent as a Rider was unsurpassed.
[edit] Madness
Along with a few of his companions and their dragons, he entered the Spine out of arrogance. When their party was ambushed by Urgals, all were slain, except for Galbatorix. A stray arrow pierced the heart of his dragon, and she died. Driven mad by the loss of his dragon, he wandered in the wild for weeks, becoming so frightful in appearance that even the Urgals avoided him.
Eventually, he found his way back to Vroengard, the Riders' capital. Coming before the Council, he demanded another dragon. The Council realized that his mind was weakened, and consequently refused to meet his demand. This effectively drove Galbatorix to hatred and insanity. His deranged mind twisted the previous events until Galbatorix began to believe that it was the Riders' fault that his dragon had been slain. Having completely convinced himself of this, he began plotting his revenge.
[edit] The Fall of the Riders
He persuaded a sympathetic Rider to kill one of the Elders. When the deed was done, he then turned on his ally and slew him. He fled into the wild, biding his time. Eventually, using persistent reasoning and dark secrets learned from a Shade, he convinced a young Rider named Morzan to support his cause. Morzan aided him in capturing a black dragon named Shruikan and the killing of Shruikan's rightful Rider. Shruikan was stolen and, through the use of certain types of black magic, forced into servitude.
Besides Morzan, twelve other corrupted Riders came to serve Galbatorix. The thirteen together were known as the Forsworn, (or Wyrdfell to the Elves). With the Forsworn behind him, Galbatorix managed to defeat the unprepared Riders, defeating Vrael, head of the order, after he was at the mercy of the leader. This brought an end to the peace the Riders had maintained in Alagaësia.
[edit] The Empire
Galbatorix and his followers defeated both the elves and the dwarves, both of whom afterwards went into hiding. Galbatorix, then slew the rightful king of the Broddring Kingdom[1], and took the title upon himself. His domain became known among his subjects, and to all of Alagaësia, as the Empire. His rule has been ruthless and cruel, and although much of the Empire stays loyal, there is a small rebellion called the Varden. He continues to struggle for power.
[edit] The Rider War
After becoming king of Alagaësia, he stayed in Urû'baen for many years, counting on his allies such as the Shade, Durza, the controlled Urgals, the Ra'zac, and his Imperial Army to keep his empire in line. Then, during the Rider War, Galbatorix left the throne for the first time in ten years in order to remove Marcus Tábor from lordship of Dras-Leona. This was during Eragon and Brom’s stay in Dras-Leona. He now also had the Urgals in his service, which he intended to use to wipe out the Varden and their allies, the elves and the dwarves, while weakening themselves to the point where he would be able to get rid of them at his leisure.
He also extended his friendship to the son of Morzan, Murtagh, who had been living in his castle. Murtagh accepted the offer, but when Galbatorix fell into a rage upon learning that rebels had intercepted and destroyed three brigades of Imperial troops, he commanded Murtagh to take a company of soldiers and decimate the village of Cantos, which was known to harbor the rebels. Murtagh refused the order and fled Urû'baen with his faithful teacher, Tornac. Tornac was killed as they escaped the city, but Murtagh managed to survive. He would later be brought before Galbatorix again by The Twins. When the red Dragon egg hatched for Murtagh, Galbatorix pried his true name from him and forced him and his dragon, Thorn, to swear allegiance to him.
[edit] Plans for a new order
It was later revealed that Galbatorix wished to reestablish the order of the Dragon Riders, bringing them under his control. In order to do this, he had need of Saphira, who was the last female dragon in existence. He sent Murtagh to The Burning Plains with orders to capture both Eragon and Saphira, but Murtagh had compassion on his younger brother and allowed him to escape.
[edit] Role in the Eragon movie
Though Galbatorix has not yet physically appeared in the books, he did appear in the movie, portrayed by John Malkovich. Throughout the movie, he is seen giving orders to Durza. In his throne room in the movie, he has a dragon-like throne and a map nearby which, at the end of the movie, he cuts down, revealing Shruikan behind it. In the movie he is bald, with a beard and long nails. He's depicted as a calm and very intelligent in the movie, and only shows any frustration at the end after Durza's failure. Most of his backstory has been left out so far, and in addition to that, he aims to kill Eragon as well as Saphira, as opposed to trying to use Saphira to recreate the dragons like in the book.
[edit] Real-world connections
[edit] Motives
There has been a great deal of discussion among fans about whether or not Galbatorix truly is evil, or if does have good reasons for his actions. Some fans believe that his attempt to reestablish the Dragon Riders is proof of this theory. He may redeem himself in the end or end up making a mistake and die.
[edit] Comparisons
Galbatorix is comparable in characterization to Morgoth of "The Silmarillion", Sauron of The Lord of the Rings - as a "dark lord" and the primary antagonist of the work - and Emperor Palpatine of the Star Wars saga; he resembles Palpatine in his rise to power and unexpected overthrowing of the established order. He can also be compared to Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter books.
[edit] Etymology
Galbatorix means "big king" in Welsh.
[edit] References and notes
| Preceded By | Position | Succeeded By |
| King Angrenost | Broddring Kingdom Monarch | Incumbent |
